The Thunder Bay Police Service (TBPS) Board has appointed Mark Figliomeni as its first-ever full-time Executive Director.
Figliomeni has previously worked in municipal politics as a councillor and mayor of Schreiber, as a board member and vice-chair of the District of Thunder Bay Social Services Administration Board, and most recently as the Chief Administrative Officer of Red Rock Township.
But the director’s new role in leading the police board comes with historic baggage that will demand a deft touch.
In late 2018, the city of Thunder Bay was rocked by two reports that both characterized the TBPS as an institution wracked by systemic racism from top to bottom.
The Sinclair Report, published by Senator Murray Sinclair (who also chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission), observed a failure by the TBPS to investigate Indigenous-related crimes in the city and a general lack of faith in police by Indigenous residents of Thunder Bay and the surrounding district.
The Broken Trust report, published by Gerry McNeilly, Director of The Office of the Independent Police Review, came to similar conclusions one month later, specifically criticizing the manner of investigations into Indigenous deaths by the TBPS.
Both reports laid out a series of recommendations to improve police transparency and accountability, and ultimately repair the fractured trust that marginalized members of the city had lost in their public institutions.
The police board initially conveyed a reluctance to address the recommendations under then-Chief Sylvie Hauth, who is currently facing criminal charges and is set to face the courts in April.
But in the years since, progress has been made: the TBPS appointed Darcy Fleury of the Red River Métis as Chief, appointed two Indigenous women to the board, and last year released a public tracker to improve transparency in the service’s efforts to meet the many recommendations to transform the institution.
The appointment of a full-time Executive Director to lead the board was one of the recommendations of the Sinclair report.
Figliomeni describes his orientation into the new role as overwhelming but intriguing.
Though he is still familiarizing himself with the position’s nuances, the new director feels the new full-time position “enables us to evolve with the times.”
“Generally speaking, it’s the vision of the board to continue to get better, to adopt those recommendations from that report, and move forward,” he says.
Figliomeni is undaunted by the controversial history of the city police.
Despite entering uncharted territory as the first in his role, he feels that his own career history has prepared him for the task.
“When it’s an inaugural role, it’s one framework that you’re there to develop. So we have a kind of vision as to where it’ll go, but certainly it’s a vision that still needs to be developed.”
Figliomeni says his career history demanded “wearing many hats,” taking on wide-ranging responsibilities and relying on the establishment and maintenance of key relationships to achieve success.
The new director recognizes that the police board has a grave responsibility to make positive changes, but feels the progress is clear and visible.
“I think this board has a clear focus of being better, and I think you’ve seen that over the last year or more… I’m seeing a very engaged board, and a board very interested in being successful with a brand new strategic plan,” he adds.
Figliomeni sees the role he is taking on as intriguing, challenging, and one that will allow him to make a difference.
“I wanted to be able to contribute back to the city of Thunder Bay, a city that I call home.”
